Musketeers & Knights
by Victoria Ivy Bennet
Summary: The children find themselves trapped in a story that Matthew had been telling them the night before. Now they'll need to work together to survive. None of the anime characters belong to me, but place names, events and other characters do.
1. Chapter 1  This is Not Good

"Hey guys! Look at the size of this place! I wonder what it's for," shouted Mannen, his voice bouncing off the walls. The rest of the group piled into the room behind him, hoping to get a better look.

"You're always wondering, Mannen, but never really willing to learn," remarked Natsume, who was leaning against the door frame and was a little upset that he got dragged into all this.

"Hey! Well I ain't the one who's skipping out on half the classes . . . "

"Alright, you two, knock it off," said Syaoran, standing between the two. "We're here to explore, so let's explore. Let's break up into four groups, Mannen, Natsume, Ruka, and I will be the leaders, OK?"

"You sure it's alright to let Ice-cube lead a group? He can't even do much on his own," sneered Natsume.

"Oh really, well Hot-shot isn't too hot when it comes to people, he'd rather lay down under a tree and let the world go to pieces," snapped Mannen. Syaoran sighed while the two got into a glaring contest. _Well, at least they're not physically fighting. I'd better take this opportunity to organize the groups before they start a physical fight. Funny how those two are complete opposites, Mannen has power over ice and yet he's hot-headed, while Natsume has power over fire and yet he's rather cold. Oh, what am I going to do with those two_. It wasn't long before Syaoran had the four groups organized, and he got Ruka to help him get Natsume and Mannen to their groups.

"Now, Natsume's group . . ."

"Can we give our groups names so that we don't have to know who the leaders are?" asked Mannen.

"Especially if there's a change in command,"added Natsume, locking eyes with Mannen again.

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea. How about we go with the groups from Matthew's story last night? My group can be Grey Rabbit, Natsume's group can be Black Cat, Mannen's group can be White Dog, and Syaoran's group can be Brown Bird. How do you guys like that?" said Ruka. There was a unanimous and positive response from everyone, even the rivals. Syaoran then sent the groups in each direction, purposefully sending Mannen and Natsume in the opposite directions. Now that his mind could be taken off of the two, Syaoran was able to get a better look at the place. It looked similar to a football field except that all the seats were on one side, and the opposite side looked like it was a stage with a giant screen above it. There were four rooms, two on either side of the stage and the other two in front of the seats, leaving plenty enough room for a field to play in. The White Dog group was heading towards a room that looked like a control booth. _I do hope no one touches anything until Izzy gains access to all the systems, but knowing our luck, someone is going to touch something and something's going to happen_. He sighed while he watched Shin pull Sakura to the door of the room they were going to explore. He pulled out a notepad and a pencil as he entered the room, having promised Matt to take down notes of what they found. Sakura, Shin, and Tomoyo had already started going through the boxes they found piled up in the room. After about an hour and a half Shin began to want food. Syaoran glanced at his watch, "It is getting close to lunch time. Sakura, why don't you and Tomoyo take Shin and go get the picnic set up. I'm sure everyone else is starting to get hungry."

"What about you, Syaoran?" asked Sakura.

"I want to finish this box. I'll meet you out there when I'm done," he replied.

"OK," she nodded, and went to find Tomoyo and Shin. It wasn't long before Syaoran heard Tomoyo and Sakura chatting on their way out, closing the door behind them. He turned back to taking inventory of the box of props. Something at the very bottom of the box caught his attention. Four swords of equal length were small enough for Syaoran to handle, but what was particularly interesting about them was the craftsmanship of the hilts. The pommel of one sword was shaped like a bird's head with two yellow-green stones posing as its eyes, its wings were spread out as the cross-guard, and its feet took the place of the rain guard to hold the sword. However, Syaoran didn't get a chance to look closer at the other three swords for at that very moment he heard Sakura's voice, "SYAORAN!" He sprang up and sprinted towards the door, but he didn't make it. He was engulfed in white light before he blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2 Rainbow Isle

"Syao-ran. Oh, Syao-ran. . . HEY! SYAORAN!" Syaoran yelped and nearly fell out of a tree. He quickly grabbed and swung himself back onto the branch.

"Why am I in a TREE?"

"I brought you here," said the voice of his alarm clock, showing himself to Syaoran. Syaoran gasped when he saw the fairy land on his knee. He was dressed in a brown suit with green accents, a white shirt, and brown boots. He was as tall as Syaoran's head, with hair a shade darker than Syaoran's own hair color, brown eyes, and brown moth wings.

"Wait, how do you know my name? And what's your name?" asked Syaoran.

"Well, some guy I met yesterday told me all about you though he only told me your first name. He told me not to worry about your last name since you'd be the only person on Rainbow Island whose name is Syaoran. And my name is Tsubasa Dubois, nice to meet you," the fairy smiled at him, offering his hand.

"Tsubasa . . . Dubois?" Syaoran looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? Oh, right. he said you might wonder about that. Basically, Rainbow Isle is like a mix of French and Japanese."

"Oh, OK. So . . . who was that guy who told you about me? What was his name? What did he look like?"

"Oh, his name is Materu. He had black hair and blue eyes, and looked to be around 20 years old. Don't tell me you've never heard of him before."

"I might have, not too sure. Have never heard that name before though."

Tsubasa sighed, "OK, he's a protector. You know, not really an angel, but not a nymph either. Now do you know who I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, I know who you're talking about. Sorry about the confusion, never knew their names."

"Oh, that's OK, glad we got that cleared up," the fairy smiled at him.

Syaoran smiled back, then, "Oh, yeah, did he tell you where some friends of mine are? We got separated."

"No, he only told me about you. Don't worry, Rainbow Isle is fairly small, if they're here you'll meet up with them pretty soon. Now you wait right here, I'll go find you some breakfast, alright?"

"OK, sounds fine to me," replied Syaoran. As soon as those words left his mouth, Tsubasa had gone. Syaoran sighed, then chuckled. _Materu, huh? Is that your real name, or is it just the name you use here . . . Matthew? I forgot to ask what else you told him about me. Will you lead me to my friends? And what kind of a name is Tsubasa Dubois? Yeah, you told him to say it was a mix of French and Japanese, but did you really expect me to believe that? This is a completely different world, I can tell it's not Earth because of that yellow grass over there. Wait, YELLOW GRASS! _Syaoran jumped down from the branch he was on and went to investigate the strange phenomenon. On one side of the tree was green grass, while on the other was yellow grass. The grass seemed to be exactly the same except for color. Then he remembered,_ Rainbow Isle! Duh, of course! Matthew transported us to Rainbow Isle! He said it was similar to Oz in a lot of ways. I didn't think that the color of the grass was one of them! And if I'm on Rainbow Isle then that must mean . . . __**groans**__ oh no! I'm a gnome! Ugh! He calls me Syao Syao*, go figure! __**sighs **__So what am I wearing? _Syaoran looked at his clothes, as best as he could. As far as he could tell, he was pretty much wearing the same thing as Tsubasa, except with a green cloak that matched the color of the green grass and was fastened with a brown bird button, and a yellow-green vest. His eyes widened in wonder when he noticed the sword. It was the exact same one he had been examining in the prop room.

***Syao is the Japanese translation of Xiao, the Chinese word for little/small. You can imagine how it irritates Syaoran when Matthew's nickname for him means "Little Little". ;P **


	3. Chapter 3 Colors of Crystelia

After a breakfast of berries and some strange maple-flavored milk that the fairy refused to talk about, Syaoran and Tsubasa ventured into the yellow region of Rainbow Isle. Apparently Materu had told Tsubasa to tell Syaoran everything about Rainbow Isle as the fairy proceeded to sit on the boy's shoulder and do just that. So Syaoran listened to Tsubasa talk about the different kinds of gnomes, the different kinds of fairies, and all of the different creatures on the island as they continued down a silvery paved road. Before long, they found themselves standing in front of a gate made of a pale yellow wood, and adorned with silver, gold, and an assortment of green jewels. There were plenty of people coming and going through it, some had goods to sell, some were herding livestock, and others were decorating the walls.

"Uh, Tsubasa . . . what's going on?" asked Syaoran, as he watched the hubbub of people rushing back and forth through the gates.

"Oh, that's right! Tomorrow is Rainbow Day! I clean forgot!"

"Rainbow Day?"

"Yeah, it's basically the birthday of the island, and the wedding anniversary of our first king and queen."

"The first king and queen?"

"Yeah, there was a war over a thousand years ago between the gnomes and the fairies. Each colony wanted someone from their ranks to rule the island, it was a total mess and it went on for years. However, unbeknown to the elders, the younger generation did not wish to fight any more and met with each other in secret to learn more about each other. One of those secret meetings changed everything. Two gnomes and two fairies were the only ones able to meet one week. As they did not have to be at home for the next few days, they spent those days in each other's company, and they gradually fell in love. When their peers found out, they were met with joy and celebration, for they all began to feel that this would mark the beginning of peace. Their parents finally and reluctantly gave their approval of their children's marriages, and finally it was the younger generation's turn to rule the colonies. They started working out peace treaties and names for areas of the island. But they were still met with one problem, no one could agree on who the first king and queen should be, until those two gnome and fairy couples had their first children. It was decided right then and there by an unanimous vote that the half-gnome, half-fairy children would become the first kings and queens. They had to wait several years before the children were old enough to take on their roles, but those years were spent in teaching them everything they needed to know as well as for their parents' generation to further establish the changes necessary to welcome their king and queen. They picked this date to symbolize not only their union but also the peace between all peoples. We've been celebrating it as such ever since. But now . . ."

"But now?" asked Syaoran, as he noticed a look of worry flash over Tsubasa's face.

He sighed, and quickly explained, "There's a rumor running around that someone is trying to usurp the throne and destroy the royal family. I'm beginning to worry that it'll happen tomorrow. We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open."

Syaoran nodded, "Right. So . . . what kind of gnomes and what kind of fairies got married? You said there are nine different kinds of fairies and seven different kinds of gnomes."

"Yes, that's right, I did. One gnome was from the Cloudberry tribe, the other was from the Strawberry tribe, while one fairy was from the Firefly tribe and the other was from the Lacewing tribe. Let's head for the center of the city where you'll see a statue of the first king and queen."

Following Tsubasa's directions, Syaoran made his way slowly but surely through the bustling crowd to the statue. They arrived at the statue breathless, there had been quite a crowd they had to maneuver through to get to the center. Tsubasa had seen someone he knew and flew off to find them, leaving Syaoran to study the statue by himself. It stood a good six feet tall, the king was dressed in much the same style as Syaoran's own clothes, except they were in shades of yellow and white and a golden crown topped his light-brown head. The queen's dress was in the same colors as the king's outfit, though there were clouds and berries scattered across the dress with a silver crown to grace her blond hair.

"Yo, Syaoran! I want you to meet someone!" Tusbasa's voice broke into Syaoran's train of thought. He turned around to meet Tsubasa's friend, and gasped.


	4. Chapter 4 And So It Begins

"Sakura!" "Syaoran!" The two children hugged each other.

"Where have you been for the past couple of days?" she asked him.

"I found myself laying in a tree with this guy acting as my alarm clock," he pointed to Tsubasa as he spoke. "Have you been here the entire time?" his brown eyes unable to look at anything else but her.

"Yes, we all have. You, Mannen, Natsume, and Ruka were the only ones missing. When Tsubomi told me that most people would be coming here for the holiday, we figured we should wait here and that we would run into you sooner or later. You're the first one, unless the others have met up already and are on their way back to the palace. Oh, speaking of, we're out on an errand for the princess. She wants some rainbow flowers for her room," she said as she grabbed Syaoran's hand and practically pulled him through the crowd, followed closely by the two fairies.

"You got jobs at the palace?" Syaoran asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we had to. They mistook us for the servants in the first place, so we figured we would play along and hopefully find out a few things. We older girls are maids for the princess, Hajime and Yuu help with the older prince, while Rokka and Shin are the younger prince's playmates. There are several fairies helping out as well, one of whom is Tsubomi," Sakura said, indicating the butterfly-winged fairy keeping up with her. "I'll properly introduce you to her later. Right now we have to get some rainbow flowers. And we're here," Sakura continued, pulling the group to a stop. Syaoran looked at the flower shop where they had arrived, dozens of people were running in and out with bouquets and floral garlands. The group ducked into the shop, the boys getting separated from the girls amidst all the hustling and bustling. "We'll meet you outside!" was all Sakura could say before she and Tsubomi disappeared into the crowd. The boys soon got caught in the rush and ran inside to avoid getting trampled. Tsubasa started wondering off in one direction.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Syaoran asked him.

"I can sense trees and other forest plants in that direction. I want to go check it out, won't be long," he replied.

Syaoran groaned, "Oh fine, I'll take a look around myself, I want to see more of the flowers. Let's meet back here in about thirty minutes, the girls should be done by then."

"Sounds good to me," chirped the fairy, and took off. Syaoran sighed, and walked in the opposite direction. The flowers the shop was selling were new to him, though some looked like flowers he had seen before. But as soon as he got closer, he noticed the differences. The shop was filled with a particular flower which Syaoran guessed was the rainbow flower Sakura was talking about. It looked like a mix of a carnation and a rose, with seven petals in each of the three "layers". It came in every color of the rainbow, white, and mixed, the kind that ranged from two to seven colors a flower. There was one flower Syaoran saw that sported all seven colors of the rainbow, starting with red and circled around to purple. Then he noticed one small flower hiding behind the colorful displays. It looked like a large cherry blossom, though it was only half the size of the rainbow flower, and it was completely white with each of the petals ending in a little point. Syaoran picked it up very gently and noticed the dirt was rather dry. As he was looking at the strange flower, he heard a couple of voices off to his left talking about the royal family. He didn't pay much heed to it until, "How are we supposed to take them out and when? I thought we didn't want to be noticed."

"We don't want to be noticed, that's why it has to be done very carefully. We need to find a safer place to talk, there are too many people here who could over hear us. Listen, there's a few things the lady wants so I won't be available till tonight. Let's meet up at the statue, there's a safer place I'll take you to from there. And make sure you're not followed," said the other voice. By now, Syaoran had seen them and tried to keep an eye on them without giving himself away. He noticed one fellow was a gnome for sure, while the other looked like he was a lacewing. When the two parted ways, Syaoran tried to keep the Lacewing in sight as the gnome headed straight for the door, but soon lost them both in the crowd. Every inch of him on alert, he decided to take the flower he still held in his hands to the only open check-out counter and asked the employee about it while still keeping an eye and an ear open for the two conspirators.

"Oh, that's the starflower*, it's capable of living in the worst environments with hardly any nourishment for years. It's also called the hope flower because of that. It's one of the most cheapest flowers around because you can grow and find them anywhere. Do you want to buy it?"

Syaoran looked at the flower for a bit before replying, "I guess so, I don't have enough to buy anything else." The cashier chuckled and checked him out, then Syaoran rushed to the spot he had designated to meet Tsubasa at. The fairy wasn't there yet, but Syaoran glanced up at the clock and saw that a few minutes remained of the allotted time they had agreed on. _Of course he's going to show up at the last minute, taking up every valuable second with his woody friends_. Syaoran rolled his eyes and chuckled, and then he paused for a moment, looking at the flower in his hand as thoughts of Sakura rushed into his mind followed by thoughts of the rest of the group. He began to wonder how Mannen, Natsume, and Ruka were doing, if they had arrived in Crystelia yet, if they had met their loves like Syaoran had, and if they had an annoying fairy companion. And then there was that scheme he overheard, he was going to have to tell his friends about it without making the royal family worry. He wasn't sure if many of the guards could be trusted, he would have to ask his friends working at the castle to keep an eye on them as one or more could be comprised to give the conspirators the chance they need.

"Hey, nice flower. Got that for your girlfriend?" was the announcement for the fairy's arrival.

"She is not my girlfriend! Though it seems to me that you have gotten something for yours!" Syaoran retaliated, noticing Tsubasa trying to hide a small, light pink flower behind his back.

Tsubasa scoffed, "That's not it! Tsubomi and I are . . ."

"You and I are what?" interrupted a female voice. Both boys looked in the direction of the voice, and saw the girls with their arms full of rainbow flowers.

"Friends, you and I are just friends," quickly replied Tsubasa. Syaoran thought he saw a look of sadness cross Tsubomi's face, but was quickly overcome by her smile.

"Well, if that's the case, couldn't you two be good friends and help us carry these?" she continued. Sakura mumbled an agreement as she began to waver under the weight of the flowers she was carrying. Syaoran quickly took more than half of the bouquets from Sakura while Tsubasa did the same for Tsubomi. The four made their way out of the flower shop with the girls leading the way back to the palace. They were so busy trying to stick together and keeping on the right path that before they knew it, they were standing in front of the palace gates. Sakura called out a greeting to the guards and explained their errand. Syaoran was glad when the gates finally opened since that meant he was getting closer to getting the load out of his arms. The girls led the rest of the way to the princess' room, where she was waiting eagerly with the rest of Sakura's friends.

***Note: there is a starflower on Earth, but two things. First of all, Syaoran has never actually seen one, and secondly, it's smaller than cherry blossoms (about the size of your fingernail). The one on Rainbow Isle is bigger than both.**


End file.
